


Things Just Got Weird

by BrimFireWarning



Series: Weird and Weirder [1]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Modern Girl in Thedas, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-01 22:09:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10931019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrimFireWarning/pseuds/BrimFireWarning
Summary: Moki was a WWIII survivor, now she's a resident of Thedas. How did that happen? Why is her brothers hand green? And don't even get her started on the weird bald guy. If her life wasn't strange enough, add some magic to the mix and see what you come up with.





	1. Chapter 1

Leaning her head back against the dark wall of their current shelter Moki watched her brother Michael cook a deformed rabbit over a small fire, slowly turning the meat while fanning the smoke out a large crack in the wall opposite of her.  

"You know I hate it when you look at me like that." He didn’t even look up.  

"I wasn’t aware I had more than one expression." Her voice was monotone, the near lack of anything... human, matching her face perfectly.  

"You used to," he mumbled the words under his breath, knowing full well saying them louder was useless. He was right though, she wasn’t always like this. _Life_ , wasn’t always like this.  

Ten years ago they had been two regular high school graduates out celebrating their newest achievements with friends, smoking and drinking like the dumb kids they were. Smartest dumb thing they'd ever done, though. That night they'd decided to raid their Aunt Crystal's underground bunker, the well known stash of whiskey she'd coveted for the end of the world making the night far more wild then they'd ever anticipated.  The morning had found them huddled in terror as sirens blared in the distance, their mom screaming with her hands over her ears as fighter jets battled it out in the sky above them. Bombs dropped, soldiers invaded, lives ended. Russia had come for a little visit, with China's blessing. Michael and Moki, along with their mom and five other teens had been locked in that bunker for months by the time someone, they assumed North Korea, started dropping nukes everywhere, worldwide. Millions dead, possible billions. The radio stopped working after that, but the last broadcast had indicated the destruction was global. They were calling it the apocalypse. 

The good news was the bunker had been built with the idea of sustaining a small family for up to three years- Auntie Crystal had been an end of the world fanatic, convinced it was going to flip, some huge shift of the magnetic poles. It flipped all right, right over sanity and straight into gone. Just... gone. Which was what they discovered when they finally opened the door and ventured outside.  The first time out their mom had gotten caught in the rain. The _acid_ rain. Shortly after her death they tried again, this time Moki and their bunkermate Sam had gotten caught by a group of crazed men fighting over a potato. Moki had killed her first human- in a fight started by a single, rotting, potato.  After that she was a changed woman, and as time wore on, more people died, and hope dimmed; she became less human.  Moki walked the path of a broken soul, functional only for the sake of her brother. She became his protector, his caretaker of sorts, doing everything within her power to shield him from the worst of the war so that when this was done, when they could finally find others to start anew with, he could. Something he was acutely aware of. 

Which is why when the ground started shaking and rolling it took a few minutes to get more than an eye roll out of them. "MOVE!" Moki pushed Michael to the side just as a large shelf came crashing down, the corner catching her down the middle of her spine. Back arched she sucked in a deep breath, refusing to release the scream lodged in her throat.  

The fire sputtered, the self covering it so that the room fell into complete darkness. Moki was used to the dark, would swear she'd developed night vision over the years, but this? This was an inky blackness, not so much as a speck of light illuminating it. The ground cracked, the terrible tearing sound as the earth was ripped in two preluding the shutter that threw the siblings into what was left of the corner of the shelter.  

"Gas?" Michael glanced at his sister in panic as she calmly studied the green glowy vapor like substance floating up from the crack.  

"Could be. We need to get to the exit." Which, of course, was on the other side.  

"Shit. No plan B?" 

She huffed, the closest to a laugh he'd heard from her in months. Stepping closer to the edge she calculated the distance in her head. "'Fraid not. We're going to have to jump it." Taking her thigh knife out she cut the bottom of her raggy shirt, tearing a large strip off. Michael frowned as he saw the portion that had been on her back was saturated with blood, but before he could say anything she cut that part off and handed him what was left. "Put this over your mouth and nose." 

"What about you?" Mechanically he did what she'd asked. 

"We don’t have time for this. We jump on three." Bracing themselves against the wall to try for more running room she counted. "One, two." Their feet sprang forward on three, both of them waiting until the very edge of the chasm before leaping into the air. The ground shook again midflight, knocking cement and gravel off the other side. Michael managed to catch an exposed rebar, clinging tight with both hands. Moki landed just below him, fingers desperately grasping for purchase on the loose flooring, Michaels hand shooting out and grabbing her hoodie top when she slipped.   

The sound of cloth ripping might as well have been a shotgun blast. 

"Let me go." 

"Are you shitting me?!" 

"Let me go, Michael! Get out, save yourself!" 

His hand was white on the rebar, a choice had to be made and soon. 

He smirked. "Since when have I ever let you do shit alone?" She should have known he'd say that, they were twins after all. 

The ground shifted again, taking their non-existent choice away from them as Michael lost his hold. Moki didn’t know what happened after that, maybe it was shock, or acceptance. But she kind of zoned out, her eyes closing as a strange peace stole over her. Right before losing consciousness a little voice sighed in the back of her mind, she'd swear it mumered 'finally', in a happy little hum. 

 

*************************** 

 

"Hey, hey lady." Something poked Moki's cheek. "Lady please, we have to get out of here. Wake up!" Poke, poke.  Groggily she opened her eyes, her vision almost too blurry to see the woman above her. "Please wake up," the woman whimpered, eyes on something in the distance. Was it one woman or two? Moki was having a really hard time telling.  

"'M up," she swatted the hand away from her face. "Up." Realization set in at the same time the pain in her back registered. She was alive. Michael?! Sitting up fast was a bad idea, the blood rushing to her head nearly made her pass back out while simultaneously sucker punching her in the gut, prompting her to roll over and vomit where she lay. The small pile of green vile was a sad testament of how little she'd consumed lately.  

"MOKI!" Michael's voice roused her from her spinning hell. "Damnit, what the hell happened to us? I'm going to have to carry her, I don’t think she can walk." He must be talking to that woman. Or was it women?  

Hands lifted her bridal style, her head lolling around on a firm shoulder as they moved forward. Then the jostling started as Michael yelled to run, cursing something about mutant spiders from hell. "Hold on to me Moki, I need both hands for this." Despite his words he kept one arm firmly wrapped under her butt while she tried to hold on to him, her limbs not quite following her orders. Braving a headache she cracked her eyes open, idly noting the woman next to them had very pointed ears that rivaled even her own: they ended almost like someone had squeezed the tips together. How odd, she thought. Did the nukes cause mutation like they did with King Kong? Or was it Godzilla? The woman glanced over and Moki could see the vibrant violet eyes in her little face study her in return, strange little wavy lines curving across her cheekbones and down her lips. Something up ahead caught her attention and things became too bright for Moki to keep her eyes open. Michael stumbled, then collapsed, crushing her beneath his weight. She heard metal clanking, then nothing. 

 

****************************** 

 

Over the years Moki had woken up on just about every surface known to man, but she could honestly say smooth stone flooring, the kind found in old castles or temple ruins, was a new one. For some reason her body wouldn’t listen to her when she tried to move, and no matter how hard she tried she counldnt get her eyes to open. It felt like one of those dreams where you try and try to move or open your eyes but nothing you did made it happen. That was her, she thought as panic tried to settle in her stomach.  

"Look, I told you everything I know." Michael's voice floated over. "Now can you help her or not?" But who was he talking to? 

Metal clanked, like a gate or door sliding open.  

"Solas is an expert on the fade. If your sisters condition is somehow tied to your trip through the fade he should be able to give us a better direction on how to help her." Someone snorted. The lady sounds like a total bitch- with a super sexy accent. The next voice she heard, though, was like the one time Michael had dared a much younger her to stick her pocket knife in the electrical outlet. As incredible as that experience had been she'd never even thought of repeating it. Maybe there's a lesson there? 

"She is awake, but it seems she is unable to move." A warm soothing feeling circled her head, the tingling feeling making her want to shiver in pleasure. Like a dowsing rod it zeroed in on the spot on her back, stopping right between her shoulder blades, exactly where the shelf had hit her. The man cleared his throat. "I need to examine her back, would you mind removing her top? Seeker, could we not acquire fresh clothing to redress her in when I'm done?" 

"Of course, I'll see it's taken care of." 

Moki could practically feel Michael shrug at the mans request. Living for years in a 20 by 30 foot bunker had made privacy a thing of the past. Little worries like what your body looks like to others no longer matters when it's a life or death fight on a daily basis, not to mention Michael was usually the one to patch her up when she injured herself. Hands settled on her arms, lifting her upper body up. One arm braced her back while the other shimmed her shirt off her unresponsive body. There was a feminine gasp as she was laid on her stomach, Michael's quiet cursing too low to catch much of.  

"So many scars." A familiar voice whispered. "That green stuff looks like a tree... and what is that on her hip?" The woman from before? 

"War always leaves a mark." Michaels voice is solum. "That's her birthmark, I have one in the same spot." 

"How long did you say you were in the fade?" The warm feeling starts again, tracing the same path farther down her spine. 

"I don't know... damnit! I honestly don't know!"  

The feeling stopped right over her birthmark, and if she'd been able to move she'd probably have jumped. Did he just shock her? Thankfully the feeling only stayed a moment before it retreated back up her spine. 

"This place you come from, did it have magic?" 

"Apostate, what are you getting at? Can she be helped or not?" 

Magic? They were talking about magic? 

"Seeker, please allow me to ask my questions. I believe I can help, but first I need a better idea of what abilities she had prior to her fall into the fade. 

"We had no magic. There were stories it once existed, but they were just stories. Nothing like what you and Lana do. Uh, she did inhale a lot of that green stuff though, if that helps." 

A finger joined the tingling feeling, effectively stopping her inner ramblings about what the fade was and magic. Or anything really, she was surprised she even remembered to breath, the feeling it caused was that strong. Barely a touch and it felt like her whole world had shifted, every nerve in her body was lit up like a toker at Woodstock, every muscle clenching and shifting as heat pooled in her lower abdomen. Then something popped, and like a balloon her body relaxed. It took her a second to notice she could move, and as soon as she did she realized with some embarrassment she really had to pee.  

Shifting her head just enough to see Michael, who looked whole and healthy, thank goodness, she cleared her throat. "Can we discuss this, whatever this is, after I go piss?" 

Tilting her head a bit farther she was able to see the person behind her, who still had his finger on her back with slight frown between his brows. His eyes flickered up to hers, and froze. Compared to this feeling exploding in her chest right now the one she'd had when he touched her had been child's play. She was falling, a million stars bursting around them as her entire world tunneled into the man's stormy blue eyes.. Nothing existed except for him and her heart swelled to the point of bursting. Later, when she's reassess what had happened in this moment, she'd swear she saw silver glittering in the depths of his eyes.... and a shadow prowling in the background. Suddenly feeling like the prey of a dangerous hunter she tore her eyes away from his.  

Looking back at her brother and the two females flanking him she cleared her throat. "The bathroom?" Sitting up she forced the finger still touching her away, pulling her knees up as she tested her balance. 

"The 'laterine' is down the hall, up a flight of stairs and several rooms over. But if that's too far, there's a chamber pot in the corner." Michael shook his head at her questioning brow, his eyes promising an explanation later.  

Michael walked out of the… cell? Moki cursed. Why was she in a cell? Suddenly wide awake she noted the iron bars, straw flooring and wooden chamber pot in the corner. It was like a medieval fair she'd been to as a child, just far more realistic. Diverting her eyes as everyone followed her brother out she tried to keep the questions in her mind from overwhelming her. Wishing for the millionth time she could pee standing up like a guy Moki relieved herself, slightly concerned when it burned. Last time she'd had urinary issues there was still a local Walmart to raid for cranberry pills. Did they have something similar here? Pushing the question to the side for later she straightened herself up as best she could and wandered out of the cell, following the hall to the stairs Michael had mentioned. She was oddly not surprised to find the small woman from before waiting at the bottom for her.  

Giving her a small dainty smile the woman touched her hand to her chest and bowed forward a little. "It's great to finally see you up on your own, Moki. I'm Lana, we met before in the fade." She gestured up the stairs, walking side by side with Moki as they climbed the stairs.  

"Hi Lana." Moki racked her mind, trying to organize her questions from important to just curious. "Where are we?" At least, that's what she intended to ask. What came out was "Where are we? Is this a castle cause I didn’t know we had any of those around here. And what's with the cell? Why the hell was I in a cell-." She cut herself off, clearing her throat at Lana's amused face. "Sorry." 

They cleared the top step as she stopped rambling, just in time for a masked man to storm out of one of the rooms, barrelling into them in his hurry to leave. "Out of my way knife ear." He muttered agitatedly in a french accent. It only took half a second for Moki to realize the man had just insulted her. He'd run into them after all, not them into him. 

Before she could stop herself her hand shot out, grabbing the gritty cloth of his long shirt. "Excuse me, sir. What did you just say?" 

Even through the mask she could see the man's weak chin quiver in a sneer. "Unhand me, rabbit. Now." 

"Apologize and I will." Prick. 

His hand swung back, aiming for her head. Faster than his arm could move she grabbed his thumb, flipped him over, twisted his arm behind his back and dug her fingers into both sides of his tracia, pulling his head back tight. As he gagged and choked indignant insults she put her knees between his shoulders, forcing his chest lower. "I'm sorry, I don’t speak ignorant ass. You owe us an apology for running into us, insulting us, and for thinking it is ok to hit a woman." His sputter turned into a whine as she added more weight.  

"Moki." She rolled her eyes. Never fails, she thought. Find someone who need an attitude adjustment and here come brother dearest to mess it up. " _Moki_." 

Growling her displeasure, which made the bald man next to Michael raise a brow, she finally let the idiot in her arms go. It wasn’t much, just a twitch, but it seemed somehow important that she'd gotten a reaction. Stepping back she watched dispassionately a moment as the masked man struggled to stand up, gasping and wheezing as he rubbed his throat and arms in turns. "Never have I been so insulted! Where is your superior!? I demand recompense!" Moki made a show of leaning back on one hip, arms crossed. Giving him a drool stare she snorted at his words while rolling her eyes.  

"Pray tell serrah," a beautiful Spaniard looking woman in a gold dress holding a quill and some kind of portable writing table spoke up. "As it was you who hit them first, then followed it up by insulting them for your rude behavior; how was it that _you_ were insulted?" 

"The knife ear deliberately stood in my way and refused to allow me to pass..." It was almost comical how the man actually believed the malarkey pouring out of his deranged mouth. Oh, now his hands are moving, how much more convincing this made the whole matter. She cut her gaze to Michael. He didn’t even complete his head shake when idiot numeral uno grabbed her arm. 

Teeth clenched she snarled as she jerked him forward, just past her body before kicking her foot up backwards, slamming it into his face. Spinning around she swung her leg forward in a roundhouse kick to the side of his head, effectively incapacitating him as he hit the wall next to him face first. Spitting at him angrily she glared at Michael, daring him to say something.  

"Oh Creators! That was, was- can you teach me to do that?!" Lana nearly squealed, jumping up and down like a little kid and clapping her hands. Moki blinked at her. How old was she? Even though she tried to avoid baldy's gaze she still saw his head incline fractionally in what seemed to be approval. Or was it something else? She never had been the best at reading people. The pretty lady in gold wrote something on her paper before looking back and forth between Moki and Michael.  

"I shall have someone fetch the Marquis and escort him out. If that is all we really should proceed to the war room, the other advisors still await us." Her voice was perfectly pleasant, like nothing had happened just now. Moki had a feeling she just might come to like this lady. The gold though, while it looked good on her, was too much. Following her lead they stepped around the unconscious man and entered the room behind the large wooden doors.  

Moki's thoughts wandered during the brief walk, thoughts of what she had just done filling her mind. She had no regrets, felt she'd been too gentle actually, but there had been a time when she hadn't even been capable of such violent behavior. War changes people though, there was no coming out of it the same way you went in. Maybe now that they were in this new place she could let her guard down a little, find something to enjoy. Like the old her. The one that smile at puppies and danced for pleasure, headphones blaring as the music freed her in a way she hadn't felt since... about ten minutes ago actually. Her eyes flicker to baldy. It must have been a fluke, or some kind of magic, the man looked as welcoming as a giant icicle, and about as warms as one too. Best to just forget whatever it had been.  

The room the woman lead them to had a large table in the middle, a map and she was guessing regiment markers covering most of it. Wasn’t there a board game that looked like this? She wasn’t sure, it's been years since she'd even thought of games, and she'd always been into video games. Like Dragon Age Origins, that Alistair idiot had been pretty cute. At the time she'd actually liked the shy chantry boy sweetness. Now? Sweet is nice but she wanted someone who could protect her without shielding his eyes if a boob pops out. Ogrin had been a hoot though, drunk horn dog that he was. And Leliana? Moki had laughed at the woman's obsession with shoes, and that scene where she sang around the campfire... huh. Moki tilted her head as she considered the woman in the hood. That woman looks an awful lot like her.  

"Everyone, this is my sister Moki. Moki, this is our Ambassador, Lady Josephine Montilyet." Micheal indicated the golden lady from the hall before turning to the short dark haired lady from the cell earlier. "Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast." Moki's eye twitched. Seeker? What did she seek? They exchanged nods in greeting. 

Turning to the hooded lady Michael continued introductions. "Our spymaster, Sister Leliana." Moki froze. This lady looks like Leliana, and her name is Leliana... 

Michael indicated that last person at the table with his hand, a towering male with a fur ruff covering his broad shoulders. "And this is Commander Cullen, leader of the Inquisitions forces." Honey eyes bored into Moki's. That was all she could see. Because there was no way she was looking at the sweet templar from the circle mage origin story. It was interesting, really, to meet two people who look just like video game characters they just happen to share names with. Coincidence, right? Right? 

Her eyes slanted to Michael. That man had better start explaining before her thought process goes any further, cause she seemed to be adding stuff up in an impossible direction. 

He simply nodded at her, face impassive. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath, slowly in, slowly out. "Please explain, Michael. Where are we and how did we get here."Her voice remained calm, almost neutral, giving away none of her rising panic.  

"Remember the earthquake?" She didn’t even bother answering him. "Apparently the exact moment our world shifted an explosion ripped the reality of this world apart, and opened some kind of worm hole in the space time continuum." Stop trying to sound smart, Michael. It's not working. "I don’t know, just guessing." Duh. "Whatever the case, we are in a completely different world, Moki." Shifting her hand she pinched herself. There goes that theory, she wasn’t dreaming. Glancing back at Cullen and Leliana she slowly trailed her eyes over to the 'elves'. Well shit.  

"Let me guess." She held up her hands, fingers splayed. "You have magic." She lowered a finger. "Dwarfs." Another finger. "Qunari." Michaels brow rose on the unfamiliar word. "Elves, darkspawn, blights... crazed magisters... Elvehn gods." 

"You don’t have elves?" Moki shook her head at Leliana. "But you have pointed ears, no?" 

"No, we're just as human as you. It's a genetic mutation called Darwin's Points, it's just- you know what, you have no idea what I'm saying. Let's just stick to- we are human, and we have none of the things I just listed in our world." 

"Then how do you know so much about us? Your brother knew nothing of our world." 

Moki zoned out then, her mind trying to rationalize how utterly impossible this whole thing was. Seriously, Dragon Age? Was her body lying at the bottom of a ravine somewhere, hallucinating to pass the time? There was no way they could have traveled to a video game world! She only vaguely remembered the events from the first two games, even less from the third. Ten years was a long time to try to remember things that happen in a game. A game!  

"Moki? You ok in there?" Michaels hand waved in front of her face. Half heartedly swatting it she turned to the one person in the room she still had no name for.  

"And you are?" 

"I'm Solas, if there are to be introductions." He bowed his head a little as he spoke. Moki could tell he was telling the truth, but some part of her was saying that there was more to his name, and that it was very important. The only thing she could remember from the game was the green hand closed the green marks in the sky. So why was this man's name bothering her? Something must have shown on her face, the little bit of warmth in his eyes turned cold with suspicion.  

Cassandra cleared her throat, breaking Moki's staring contest with Solas. "Your brother has been marked." Speaking of green hand. "Many believe by the Divine." Michael held up his left hand, a green glow similar in color to the stuff from the earthquake shining from a jagged scab on his palm.  

"They're calling me the Herald of Andraste. Andraste is a woman known as the Bride of the Maker." Moki gestured for him to move on, she knew about the Maker and his so called Bride already. Leliana had been obsessed with them. "That means I'm important here, apparently. Its' the only reason I could get Solas to take a look at you." Moki stilled at the reminder. "You never did say what was wrong with her." Keeping her eyes trained on the map on the table Moki strained her ears for Solas's words. 

"Lady Moki." Her eyes flickered to him, refusing to rise further than his lips. "Had a mana buildup in her spine. The injury she sustained prior to her arrival in the fade is very unusual and prevented her mana from flowing naturally, thus causing her paralysis. If she would allow me." Her eyes dropped back to the map. "I would like to examine it further at another time, to ensure there is no other damage." 

"Mana?" Like magic, mana? 

"You are a mage, Moki." She huffed. Riiight. "As you have both mentioned the world you come from does not have this ability I would like to extend my services should you have any questions regarding it. Or lessons on how to use it." 

"You will take him up on that offer, Lady Moki." Moki wanted to object to Cullen's command but if what Solas said was true... "An untrained mage is susceptible to demons and possession. We no longer have circles to send you to for training." As if she'd go. "So Solas is your best option at this time." Moki bit her cheek, desperately wanting to lash out at the man for presuming he had the right to order her around. But remembering his history at the circle stopped her. He'd been tortured by mages- or was it demons? Either way, not good. "Until we are sure you have a firm grasp on your magic you will be watched at all times by a templar, or Solas. Please, Lady Moki. I don’t say this to be cruel."  

"She's coming with us when we leave tomorrow." Moki sent Michael a thankful look. "Solas can teach her the basics while we travel."  

Moki rubbed her head, where a headache was settling in.  "I need to think. Is there a place for me to just- think?" 

"You'll share my cabin, unless there's a problem with that?" The others shook their heads. "Let's go sis. What's first, food or bath?" 

"Not hungry. Bath." 

"Food it is!" He put his hand on her back, guiding her out of the room. "Don’t give me that look, I could count your damn ribs earlier!" 

"And I'm sure if you lifted your shirt I could count yours too! I want to rid myself of my rank ass clothes and sink my naked body into a tub of hot water. I want to scrub and soak and lay until I'm all pink and pruny, and hopefully when I come out this mess will make more sense! _Then_ I might get food."  

Moki glanced back at Lana's laugh, noticing both Cullen and Solas looked a little pink in the face. Hah, so they make them shy here? That's kind of funny actually. 


	2. Finding Herself

They'd been walking for days and she still couldn’t take her eyes off of the landscape as they walked, pure joy infusing her body as the music of the birds sang to her; the wind passing through the trees tussled her hair, and clouds gently floated through the unpolluted sky. Moki could feel the joy water her eyes as she took a deep, clean, breath of air.  Never again would she take this for granted. 

Opening her eyes she saw Cassandra watching her, a curious look on her face. "Your world, does it not resemble this one?" Moki knew what she was asking. If our worlds looked alike, why was she so happy to see all of this.  

"It did, once." Moki cleared her throat, trying to get the residue tears out of it. "The people in my world have perfected the art of war.  There we solve every major crisis with guns- things kind of like a bow and arrow but far more powerful. You can take a man's head off with just one pull of a finger." She mimicked shooting a gun. "Boom. Dead." Lana squeaked from where she'd been walking next to me. Is she seriously that innocent? 

"Then we have bombs. Not like your little firecracker flingers here, I'm talking blow up whole towns at once." 

"That doesn’t sound too impressive, Footsy. Put enough black power in one spot and it could do the same." Moki rolled her eyes at the nickname. One little rumor reaches him of handing the Marquis his ass and she got Footsy for a nickname? Guh, sounds like she enjoyed under the table games or something childish like that. 

"Very true, Varric. I'm talking more like taking out the entirety of the Free Marches in one go, vaporizing everything where it stands. Ten generations from now you might- might- be able to travel through there again without getting sick. Nothing grows, the air can kill you, and the water will. It's called a nuclear bomb." 

Varric muttered a quiet curse to himself, Lana and Cassandra grumbling something similar.  

"About ten years ago another country dropped them everywhere, even other countries if I heard right. We were lucky my Aunt had built an underground bunker- uh, room, for us to hide in. By the time we finally came out, everything was gone. And if it was alive, it tried to kill you." She got lost in the scenery again. "I was ready to give in when the earthquake happened." Her eyes widened, she hadn’t meant to say that last part out loud. 

"What do you mean, give in?" There was a tenseness to Solas's voice she hadn't heard before and didn’t know what to think of.   

"Not, quite, like that. More of, while I would have fought it tooth and nail, I would have also welcomed it. War changes people, make us do things we normally would never consider, be people we don’t want to be, just to survive. Michael was my only light in the darkness, my only sense of hope that there might actually be a future worth living for. But as the loneliness and guilt set in, I was starting to wonder if he was enough." 

Maybe she should have started that one with 'Dear Diary, let me spill my guts to you', she thought derisively. Regardless of why she'd said the verbal puke she'd just spouted, she actually feel a lot better for having said it. And something told her that of all the people she could have said it to, this group actually understands what she meant. Well, except maybe Lana. 

Unintentionally Moki found herself looking at Solas as the next words slipped quietly from my lips. "I have more to hope for now that I'm here." Seeing his eyes widen slightly she realized what she'd implied and looked away, fighting a blush. "So Lana, how did you wind up in that fade place we first met at?" 

The tiny woman crossed her arms as she tapped her chin in thought. "I honestly don’t remember that part. I just remember helping Michael find you, then running? Something was chasing us... and a woman? I... sorry that’s all I've got. Do you remember anything about being there?" 

Frowning Moki concentrated. "Green. Lot's of green, and... a voice? Then you found me and I felt so full, it was too much. Then waking up in a cell. Odd really, I feel like we were there for awhile, I should remember more." 

Michael's voice floats over. "Hey guys, looks like we've made it to the main camp. Why don’t you go on ahead and set up, I'm sure that scout Leliana mentioned will be along shortly." Moki watched him as they passed him, seeing the exhaustion in his eyes he was trying hard to hide. "So," his shoulders dropped once everyone was out of sight. "I'm not enough anymore?" 

His tired smile told her he didn’t truly mean it. Wrapping his arms around her he welcomed her hug, holding on tight. "You know that's not what I meant, Mic. You feel it too, I can see it in your face." She tried to smile soothingly, dropping it when she realized it felt too fake. "Love you big bub."  

His arms tighten again, his cheek resting on the top of her head. "I know. Love you too, sis, to the moon and back." 

She felt his pain, the physical pain, calling to her in a way she'd never before known as she held him close to her. Closing her eyes Moki wished deep inside that she could make it all better, heal every ache and make him whole again. Something invisible and... warm… like a river of.. feeling, poured out of her, into him.  She don’t know how else to describe it. It just felt like her energy flowed into him, digging through every cell until all the dark spots were gone. Then all the energy- plus some that didn’t feel like his or hers, came back into her. At his gasp Moki stepped back, fearful she'd imagined it all and somehow hurt him more instead.  

"M-my mark! It doesn't hurt anymore! And my back! Moki, you, I think... I think you healed me, Moki." His smile is huge. “My sisters a healer.” Oh thank goodness, that had seriously scared her for a moment there.  He hugged her again before forcing her to walk next to him in the direction the others had gone. "Let's go find some food, I'm starved." 

 

********************* 

 

 _The ground shook, like a carnival ride_ _the_ _bushes and rocks rolled up and down as_ _Moki_ _stumbled and fell, only to get back up and keep going._ _She_ _had to reach the temple_ _, she thought as she curved a protective hand_ _around her overly round stomach;_ _she_ _could almost see the crystal spires on top from here. A particularly hard jerk_ _of the earth_ _threw_ _her_ _forward several feet,_ _her_ _face scraping in the mud. Pushing_ _her_ _self up by_ _her_ _hands_ _she_ _spit the mud from_ _her_ _mouth, growling at the infernal grounds movement. What was causing this madness?_ _She_ _slammed a_ _fist_ _down as_ _she_ _rose, gaze firmly locked on the top of the spire._ _She_ _had a goal,_ _she_ will _make it. That damn mage and her tricks would not keep_ _her_ _from reaching the others- they had to be warned! Looking up at the moon_ _s_ _rising through the trees_ _she_ _prayed to the creators. "Please grant me the ability to travel these cursed hills at a swifter speed, my peoples lives are at stake!"_  

 _"Nothing you do will stop this." The voice was everywhere and nowhere at once, surrounding_ _Mo_ _k_ _i_ _with its wicked teasing. "I will have you,_ _Sylaiselan_ _. You will be-"_  

 _Hearing the words echo around_ _her she_ _simply_ _snorted._ _She_ _was watching the scene playing before_ _her_ _in_ _third person at the same time_ _she_ _experienced it, playing the part while_ _she_ _puzzled over what was going on._  

 _"_ _Would you just fuck off already?_ _"_ _She didn’t even look at who had been talking as she continued to watch_ _slash_ _live the scene unfolding below._  

 _A wolf howled in the distance, planting an idea in_ _her_ _mind. Wolves are swift and cunning creatures, they could make it in time. "Fen'Harel, save me."_ _Moki_ _paused. Who was Fen'Harel? "Save my people. They come, they come to kill us all." Who the hell_ _was she_ _talking to?_ _There's a_ _presence behind_ _her_ _, and without even turning_ _she_ _can feel it's ill intent towards_ _her_ _._ I've been found, by one of them _, she thought_ _._ So be it, I'll finish this here then _. The wolf howls again, closer this time, the sound full of rage._ _They_ _both know he won't make it in time for_ _her_ _, but if he could reach_ _her_ _people-_  

 _M_ _oki's_ _world was shaking again, but this time was different, like it was 'outside'. But_ _..._ _ok,_ _sh_ _e_ _'d_ _officially lost it. How can things be shaking from- it happened again, more violently. "Moki! Moki wake up!" Then it clicked._ _She was_ _dreaming. But how c_ _ould she_ _wake up now?_ _She_ _still have to save_ _her_ _people-_  

 

"Laima o em, Fen'Harel! Ama ma'lethal- as judala esha'ala ga!" (Forget about me, Dread Wolf!  Protect my people- she will kill them all!) 

"MOKI!" 

"What is she shouting about over there?" 

"It's elvehn but I only know a few words. Something about the Dread Wolf and saving something?" 

"Chuckles, do you know what she said? Chuckles?" 

 _Wake up._  

With a gasp, Moki jerked upright, smashing her forehead into something hard.  

"Fuck!"  

Cracking her eyes open she reached up to cradled her now throbbing head between her hands. "Michael? What...?" Sure enough Michael is sitting next to her, holding his jaw. Her magic flared, wanting to soothe the pain, but like choking on flem she forced it down. Not a pleasant experience. Behind him stood Lana, Varric and Solas, with some unknown faces peaking through the open tent flap. "Um, hi?" 

"Damnit Moki, don’t scare me like that!" Her blank look must have conveyed her confusion.  

"It was pretty crazy for a minute there, Footsy. You were yelling in your sleep, all kinds of nonsense, in elvehn. Then the ground started shaking- we thought it was an earthquake until Lana realized it was you. What was going on in that head of yours?" 

But it wasn’t me, it was her. The woman... She frowned as the dream fragmented around her. She wanted... damnit! It was fading too fast to remember anything more. "What was I saying?" 

"Whatever it was it couldn’t have been good, you kept calling for the Dread Wolf. He is considered the worst sort of omen by the Dalish..." 

Lana said more, Moki was sure. At least, her lips kept moving and her hands were waving to empathize her words, but her attention was firmly on the one person she'd been swearing to herself to ignore. His blue eyes were staring at her, but she wasn't entirely sure he was seeing her.  

"Solas." A tiny jerk- he sees her now. Is that confusion? "Do you know what I was saying?"   

"You were asking for help, for your people to be saved." 

"From the Dread Wolf?"  A shadow crossed his face at Lana's exclamation, then his usual mask fell into place. "Oh, what kind of dream were you having?" 

"I- I don’t remember." She was lying, but not by much. The wolf's howl still echoed in her mind, over and over. "It's fading. I'm sorry guys. I didn’t mean to wake anyone." 

"Are you sure your ok, sis?"  

"Yeah, yeah. I think I'm going to stay up a bit though. Why don’t you go back to sleep? It still looks pretty dark out there." 

"Someone should stay with you for the remainder of the night." Solas was half turned to leave as he spoke. "Lana?" 

"I'll stay." 

"Michael, you need your sleep-"  

"I'm staying." Everyone started filing out as they argued. He finally won, just rolled over next to her, his soft snores soon filling the tent. As for Moki, she stared at the canvas above her for a long time until she finally nodded off again, trying hard not to think about all the craziness going on. 

 

No one said anything the next day, although Moki was fairly sure it wasn’t for lack of trying. She practically pushed Lana on Solas every time it he much as looked like he might talk to her. He might be catching on though, he started purposely bringing up subjects too complicated for Lana or that she reacted defensively to until Michael finally stepped between them.  

"I've journeyed deep into the fade in ancient ruins and battlefields to see the dreams of lost civilizations." What's he going on about now? "I've watched as host of spirits clash to reenact the bloody past in ancient wars both famous and forgotten." Keeping her eyes trained ahead of her she tried to seem like she wasn’t paying attention. "Every great war has it's heroes. I'm just curious what kind you'll be." 

She could practically feel Michael frown from here. "Hopefully the kind who lives to become that embarrassing former hero everyone has to put up with. Preferably with an ale in one hand as I regal the little ladies with tales of my adventures in front of a warm fire. " 

"That's what I'm here for Hero, don’t go taking my job from me." 

"What do you mean, ruins and battlefields?" Moki cast a glance at Solas to see him quirk a brow at Lana.  

"Any building strong enough to withstand the rigors of time has a history. Every battlefield is steeped in death. Both attract spirits." Spirits? "They press against the veil, weakening the barrier between our worlds." She could feel a headache starting at all the unfamiliar terms he was using.  

"When I dream in such places, I go deep into the fade. I can find memories no other living being has ever seen."  

"That’s sounds fascinating! I imagine you find all kinds of amazing things when you do that!" 

"You fall asleep in the middle of ancient ruins, Chuckles? Isn't that dangerous?"  

"I do set wards. And if you leave food out for the giant spiders, they are usually content to live and let live. The thrill of finding remnants of a thousand-year-old dream? I would not trade it for anything." 

"This... place your talking about. The fade." Moki could practically feel his eyes on her back. "Can you... live the past... in it? Not just see it?" 

"Is there something in particular you wish to remember?" 

"No! No, just... curious is all." She mentally face-palmed. There's no way he bought that.  

"As fascinating as this line of conversation is, we need to prepare for our descent into the Crossroads. Herald, we have seen some of the fighting skills your sister possesses, but what of you?" 

"Shouldn’t this have been brought up sooner, Seeker?" 

"Varric.." Cassandra growled.  

"Moki and I are both proficient in mixed martial arts." He was met with blank stares. "Really fancy kicking and boxing?" That got him a few nods.  

"I thinks she's asking if you use a weapon. Besides your feet. Although that was really cool how Moki knocked that Mar-" 

"Thank you, Lana. We get it. I used to play sword fight with my cousin but I never took it seriously." Moki snorted. Is that what he called it? It had always looked like Jay was wacking him with a stick while Michael cowered in terror more than an actually learning to hit back deal. Maybe she was mistaken? 

"Right. You two stay in the middle of the group, away from the fighting. We'll take care of the rest. When we return to Haven we'll talk with the Commander about proper training for you, Herald. At least your armor is decent." Her eyes slanted to Moki. It was not a happy look. "And where is your armor, Lady Moki?" 

She simply pursed her lips and shrugged. She couldn't move in that crap they gave her, no way was she wearing it into a fight. "It didn’t fit." Cassandra wouldn’t understand the light kevlar vest and armbands under Moki's leather tunic would protect her from daggers better than the crap Cass was wearing. Legs though? Ah, is what it is, she still wasn't putting those pieces they gave her on.  

In the end the fight they walked into turned out to be, well, electrifying. And Moki being the dumbass she was had to wonder if they've ever tried to harness this particular skill, all while trying to fight off a mad rogue intent on ending her, painfully. Leave a world of desperate crazy people killing to survive only to end up in a world full of nutty people who seem to kill for pleasure. Yay her. Finally getting the nutter in a rear choke hold she snapped his neck, watching dispassionately as Lana up chucked in the bushes. First real fight? Or can't handle violence? Who decided it was smart to bring her on this trip anyways? Spotting the mage who'd zapped her earlier she ran up behind him, swept his feet out, jabbing his sternum as he fell. She watched him as he wheezed on his back, the decision of what to do next taken from her by the kill happy Cassandra. Ok, she was being mean, but Cass honestly has no problem doing the deed. 

Again Moki's eyes wonder to Lana, who's still looking a little green. She felt something within her shift and a decision she didn’t know she needed to make was made.  

"That's the last of them, for now. Mother Giselle should be up this way." With a quick glance her way Michael turned to follow Cassandra, leaving them alone.  

"Lana." Her eyes turn to Moki, still a little glazed looking. "Was this your first fight?" 

Her head shook slowly as she spoke. "No, but this...it's never..." 

Moki put an arm around her. Eventually Michael returned. "Cassandra went on ahead to send a report. These people really need our help-" 

"Michael." He stopped, tilting his head at her odd tone. "I would like to stay here, at the Crossroads. These people do need our help, but you have other matters to take care of. If we split up we can get everything done faster."  

"But what about your training, you haven't even started yet." 

Straightening her back she stood with her feet slightly parted, hands behind her back. Its was oddly similar to they way Solas prefers to stand, almost militaristic. "That's why I'm also requesting Lana to stay with me. Sir." 

“Sir?” 

“What is it Spider-Man's uncle said? With great responsibility comes great sacrifice?” 

“Something like that, yeah. What are you getting at?” 

“I can't keep calling you by name in front of crowds, the people will never respect that. You have a title now.”  

“Oh.” His face turns grumpy, obviously not liking the idea. With a sigh he finally grunts, “Ok, fine. You and Lana stay here for now, we’ll contact this Dennet person about horses, then head back. Are you sure your ok?" 

"Yeah why?" He studies her a moment, opens his mouth then closes it as he rethinks his words. Finally he points at her arm. 

"You've been itching your arm pretty hard." 

Moki frowned, realizing the truth of his words. How odd, that's where her tattoo was. Must be a rash or bug bite. Forcefully pulling her arm away she clenched her fists in her effort to ignore it. 

"I could check it for you if you would like." She gave Solas a fake smile, lips clenched shut as she repressed the urge to keep itching.  

"I'm good. I believe we all have work to get to, I'll see you when you return with those horses. Uh, sir." She cleared her throat. This was going to take some getting used too. 

 

 


	3. Relic Quest

"So this place your taking me has some kind of relic that helps strengthen the veil? If these things are so important, why isn't there a whole team of people searching for them?" 

"Solas only just told me about it last night. He said we need to find it and activate it." 

"Oooooh, right. One of those weird 'fade meetings' you two have." They'd been here a week and it still threw her how very different things were in Thedas. Seriously, who went to sleep to have a meeting? "You sure all you do is talk?" She wagged her brows suggestively in Lana's direction. 

"Y-yes!" Her face flushed red, eyes dropping. Gotcha, Moki thought. Talking might be all they do, but the thought of doing more had at least crossed Lana's mind. "Anyways, he's still asking you to give him permission to visit your dreams." 

Oh yes, she totally wanted to give the shifty bipolar elf permission to invade her head. Yes, this sounded like a wonderful idea. Note the sarcasm. "Tell him to stop asking, I'm not going to give permission." 

"You should. Learning magic in the fade is a lot easier than in the waking world-" 

"Just tell your boyfriend I said no."  

Lana sputtered. "He is not my boyfriend!" 

"Uh huh. And I don’t buy this whole magic cures all bull crap. My body is the only weapon I need." 

"You need to at least learn to block the demons from your dreams." 

Moki shot her a glare. Dreams, why did the girl keep bringing up dreams? Ever since they'd arrived in the Hinterlands her dreams had been, well, more like memories. But not hers. Maybe she should talk to Solas, he seemed to know- uhhhh, no! No creepy elf dude allowed in your head Moki, remember!?  

The trail they were walking on entered a large clearing, a stone building of some kind in the distance with crumbling walls and arches, a small elf woman standing in front fighting a demon.  

“We need to hurry, that woman looks like she needs some help.” 

Lana glanced up from some herb she’d stopped to pick, frowning at the scene before them. “Is that another demon? Uh, I swear they pop up faster than daisy's out here.” 

With a small roll of her eyes Moki sprinted towards the woman, drawing the daggers from her thigh sheaths Michael has gracefully purchased for her before going their separate ways in the Crossroads. They were good, sharp blades, but Moki was pretty sure he hadn't bought them with demons in mind.  

Charging up behind the fighting duo Moki ran up some crumbled bits of the building, leaping from piece to piece before landing with one blade embedded in the creatures shoulder, the other driving deep into it's neck. Repeating the process as it's spindly arms flailed behind it, desperate to grasp her, and somehow still avoid the fireball the elf mage before her threw _at the demons head_ , was not easy. But, it worked. The demon fell, Moki jumping off it's back before it started to disintegrate into the ground.  

"You made that look entirely too easy." Lana was standing several feet away, casually leaning on her staff as she watch Moki dust herself off.  

"Oh, I'm sorry. Should I have waited for you to catch up?" 

"Oh, no, by all means, kill the damn things. The less ichor I have to wash off the better."  

"Haha."  

"Andaran atish'an," the elf they'd helped spoke up then, smiling at Lana and ignoring Moki. "I did not expect to see another Dalish blood here. My name is Mihris." Moki, offically, did not like this woman. "By your weapons I see you come ready for battle.  Perhaps we face a common enemy in these demons." Did she have a little crush on Lana? Her eyes did not even once look at Moki, not so much as a glance. Was there something wrong with her face that it repelled the woman? She ran her hand over her face. No, no ichor. Weird. Must be some Dalish thing. 

Lana asked her about apparently going rogue and fighting demons alone. Mihris just snorted. "Fighting demons is pointless, there will always be more." Moki glared at the back of Mihris's head at that. Killing demons meant the vile creatures couldn't kill people, therefore it was not pointless. "And I have no means of closing the rifts. But I have heard of elven artifacts that measure the veil." The whole time Mihris is talking she is waving the tip of her staff in Lana's face, the fire like tip shaped in such a way it greatly resembled a finger.  Hehe, Lana was being fingered. "They may tell us where a new rift will appear. I believe one of the artifacts is nearby, can you help me reach it?" Lana's face showed no surprise. Exactly how much does this Solas guy know? And why would Mihris show up with the exact same information just as Moki and Lana came skipping along?  

"How fascinating, we're here for the same reason." Moki's voice gushed sarcasm, a fact clearly unappreciated by the look Mihris threw her way. Hey, she finally looked at her. Now turn away, the bitch face is uncalled for. "Maybe we should join up, tackle this together?" Please say no, please say no, please- 

"Thank you. It shouldn’t be too much farther ahead." Damnit Moki, you and your big mouth.  

"Thank you for joining me," Mihris turned back to Lana. "I do not think I could have done this alone." 

"Then why the hell are you here?" 

"I was, am, first of Clan Vanen." Damn, this woman is pricklier than a friggen porcupine. "I left in service of my clan and saw that great tear in the veil on my journey. I know more of magic and the veil than any flat ear, so I hope to help." Wait, did the woman just insult her? So elves are not only hated by other races, but also other elves? This place is so fucked up. And someone is lying cause didn’t Solas claim the same stuff, just in a nicer way? On a side note- seeing how this woman clearly detests non Dalish made her wonder if Solas was of a like mind towards those not like him. Well, if he is he at least hides it better. 

 "Liar." Moki held her gaze as she said it, catching the woman off guard. 

"I... we should keep moving." 

Unfortunately, the way forward was blocked by a collapsed entryway. There goes that idea. And what's this? Walking up the path right behind them was Michael and his crew, the bald one looking suspiciously pleased with our presence. Moki idily wondered what Solas had said to Micheal to get him to come this way. She was toying with the idea when Mihris spoke up again. 

"We'll need focused magical energy to get by. You, flat ear, can you manage it?" Did the woman's voice just get nastier? Moki crossed her arms, giving her a bored look. That woman better not be talking to her- or she was going to have a close encounter with her little friend... well fuck, did she call them her blades or should she name the damn things? 

"Ma nuvenin, da'len." Moki's eyelids lowered even further at Solas's response while Mihris looked like she'd swollowed her tongue.  

Needing to know what caused that look she leaned over to Lana. "What did he call her?" 

Lana smirked. "A child." Ok, maybe she did like him now. Just a little though, a smidge.  

"Michael," she gave her brother a hug when the man approached, trying to hide her awe as she watched Solas's back muscles bunch as if he was using actual brute force instead of magic to move the rubble aside. Awfully muscular for a mage wasn’t he? "I must have missed a memo, I thought you were stopping some cave full of mages or some shit." 

"We did, it's just down the road from here. We were passing by when I saw this horrid creature riding the back of a demon like a bull, stabbing it repeatedly. I figure I better investigate before said creature escapes to kill again." 

"Oh, awfully brave of you brother dearest. This creature surely doesn't stand a chance against you and your... well fuck, gave up on the sword didn’t they?" She eyed the bow strung across his back.  

"What I wouldn’t give for a gun right now." 

"Hmm, yeah, that would be helpful. Um," She pulled him a bit farther from the rest, lowering her voice. "When we get back to, uh-" 

"Haven?" 

"Yeah. Can you ask around for books on the fade? For me?" Her head darted back to make sure no one was listening. Oh, look at that. Someone is. Ignoring Varric who watched from a distance she glared at the closest eavesdropper.  

"I have books on that subject in my cabin in Haven. When next we meet there I would be happy to share them with you." 

Be nice Moki, he's only trying to help. "Thank you, Solas." Her eyes refused to meet his. "I'll try to remember to stop by sometime." 

"Please do. If you would allow, I would also like to examine your back wound further, to ensure there is no lasting damage." His posture gave nothing away, no ulterior motives in plain sight.  

Sighing she gave in a little. "Ok, I'll allow it _if_ we should both find a convenient time while in Haven. But for now-" She gestured towards an impatient Mihris. "I believe the rude one still wants our help." 

A small flame lit in Solas's eyes, quickly banked. "She has been rude to you?" 

"I'm not Dalish." He bowed his head slightly in understanding. "Anywho, your girlfriend is waiting too, so let's be off."  

Internally she cheered at the look of dismayed disbelief on his face. "Lana and I are not-" 

"Oh please, you can't possibly tell me all you do in your 'meetings'," she made quotation marks with her fingers. "Is talk." 

"We have offered on more than one occasion for you to join us." 

"Dude, tempting, but I'm not sure a threesome with you is a good idea. There's no way you could satisfy us both." 

Something in his eyes shifted, his mouth opening to retort, when Michael's loud laughter cut him off. Smirking Moki went to join Lana and Cassandra.  

"Should I ask?" 

"I gave him my opinion on what I think really happens in your 'meetings'." As Lana turned red Moki entered the ruins, hand trailing along the wall as the room got darker. Entering the first room Moki saw what looked like a torch, a strange feeling coming over her as her hand clasp the handle.  

 _The room shifted, the walls solid, the floors clear of debris. Several hooded men walked quickly through the entrance, Moki following them as they grabbed the torch, lit it, and proceeded through one of the side doors. It didn’t take long to come across a wide set of stairs that led down to what appeared to be some kind of offering area, several bowls and vases filled with food and herbs, random jewelry scattered about. On the back wall another man was kneeling over a round like object, magic flowing from his hands into it._  

 _"My Lord Fen'Harel, the next_ _orb_ _is ready to activate."_  

 _Moki watched the magic as it flowed from the man's hand, pulsing to an almost musical tune. Without a word he stood, the barest glimpse of his face visible before he stalked off, the two men following behind him._  

"Are you ok?" Lana was watching her closely.  

Blinking back whatever had just happened Moki nodded, walking the same path the two men had walked without a word.  

"What manner of fire is that?" Cassandra stood beside her, staring suspiciously at the blue fire on the torches end. Strange, Moki blinked again, feeling oddly dazed. How had she not noticed it's unnatural color? 

"I have heard of this, but never seen it before. It is called veil fire. It is a form of sympathetic magic, a memory of flame that burns in this world where the veil is thin." Solas's eyes had a animal like sheen to them, the blue light making it dance across his pupils. The other elves did too, though to a lesser degree, except for Michael, oddly enough. His was as silver as Solas’s were. That meant night vision right? Was night vision an elfy thing? But, Michael's not an elf.... 

Solas turned his head down the steps. "I sense elven magic somewhere nearby."  

Uh, yeah. Down the stairs and to the right, round looking thing. Solas's head swung back to hers, eyes sharp. Shit, did she say that out loud? No one else seemed to notice though. 

"Oh look," she crooned, looking down the stairs. "Demons. And are those wisps? This should be a blast." Her eyes rolled.  

"If this is your idea of fun, Footsy. Remind me to stay away from your parties." 

"Oh but Varric, my dear, dear, dwarf. It wouldn’t be a proper party without you there!"  

"Ugh." Cassandra huffed, unsheathing her sword, body ready to charge into battle.  

"Hurry up Moki, before I kill them all!"  

Michael's mouth dropped, his armed bow aimed at the ground as he turned his shocked face to Moki. "We leave her with you for one week- one week!- and this is what you've turned her into?!"  

Moki winked before unsheathing her daggers. "Oh yeah?" She yelled back at Lana. "You know I can't resist a challenge!" Taking a flying leap off the balcony partition she rolled into the closest wisp, scissoring her blades across it's throat before darting away out of reach. Darting in one more time she watch in a detached like manner as its body deteriorated, her attention quickly diverted by an approaching demon. "That's one!" 

The demon herded her into a corner, forcing Moki to constantly move to avoid it's unnaturally long arms. Inching closer one of it's claws dug into her shoulder. The baring of her teeth her only outward sign of pain, Moki swung her foot around into it's wrist, shattering the bone. It's howl of pain was cut short as someone threw lightning at it, allowing Moki an open shot at it's chest, her daggers sinking deep where it's heart should be. Shrieking, it's arms swung about it wildly, catching Moki and spinning her into the wall.  

In a haze she watched as ice encased the demon, Solas appearing between them, hand outstretched as his mouth moved. Then it was the hooded man, he magic singing to the orb. Back to Solas, the demons hand twitching through the ice. Pulling Solas forward by his tunic she grabbed the short blade she was somehow positive he kept in his leg wrap, pulling it free and throwing it, the demon shattered before it could thaw anymore.  

"That's two," she hummed quietly. "Such pretty music he made. Did you hear it?" Her voice tapered off, the gentle melody of the magic swelling within her. Vaguely realizing she still held Solas close to her she quickly released him, not seeing the confused look on his face.  

Unconsciously her fingers tapped the notes on her thigh, a blue light shimmering from her fingers. Although her head was clearing she couldn't stop the music playing in her head, humming the notes out loud until she stopped. “Huh. That's not it, is it? Am I missing something?” 

“Moki, what are you humming?” Lana stood before her now, slightly amused at her friends behavior. 

“The hooded man played a magic song, that's how you activate the artifact.”  

“The half blood has lost her mind.” The walking migraine snorts. “Bunch of weak Shem if you ask me.” 

“I believe our alliance is over.” Michael's voice is hard. “I'm politely asking you to drop what you found and leave.” 

“I should have expected this. You, who are not of the People, have no honor! May the Dread Wolf take you! And you, you are Dalish! How can you accept such barbarous behavior?" Her eyes glared holes at Lana, the pointy finger on her staff waving about again. 

“If you are a good example of what the Dalish have to offer,” Moki spat. “Then I will consider myself blessed by not being born among you. No offense intended to you Lana, just her and those like her.”  

“Eh, none taken, I know what you mean.” 

“How dare you disrespect my people!” 

“Show some respect and I'll return the favor. Until then, drop the necklace and fuck off! And stop fingering Lana with your damn staff! It's annoying the shit out of me!” 

Sputtering, Mihris held up her staff as if to attack when Solas stopped her with a few words. "Ma halani. Ma Glandival. Vir enasalin." Whatever it was it worked. Mihris glared, threw the amulet at him, and stormed off.  

"Should we not activate the artifact now- that is why we're here, is it not?" 

 Michael gave Cassandra a sheepish shrug. "Uh, yeah. Can we activate it, without Mihris's help?" 

"Didn't you hear? Footsy knows how, right? The magic man showed her." 

"Fuck off, Varric." Moki's hand continued taping the tune in the air, fingers twitching. "It's a tune, but I'm missing a note." Rubbing her palm across her eyes she nearly jumped when a hand covered hers. 

"It is a tune, I had never thought of it that way." Solas mused, eyes studying the combining magic surrounding their hands. "I believe it should go like this." He played the tune for her, both of them oblivious that no one else could hear it.  

"That's it!" With a huge grin on her face she jumped up and ran over to the orb like object, placing the hand still surrounded by blue light over it as she played the tune. Something clicked and the orb moved, light softly emanating from it as it activated. "It worked!" Raising her eyes to a room full of various expressions she immediately dropped her smile, cleared her throat and crossed her arms. "Uh yeah, got it working. I'll, uh, be outside if you need me." 

Seeming to shake himself Solas stepped beside her, his staff clicking on the ground as they walked out. "That is the first time I have seen you use your magic. How do you feel about it?" 

She raised the hand that had been glowing, glaring when nothing happened. "It's eh." 

"I can do without it." She clarified at his questioning brow. "I don’t want to depend on it. Depending on things makes life easier but what happens when it's gone? If I learn like you want me to and use it all the time, what will happen if it fails me in the middle of a fight? I'll die, that's what."She shrugged. "Besides, I don’t know how I did that. It just happened."  

"You mean to say you just performed a highly advanced spell, yet you have no idea how you did it?" 

She stopped walking, brows raised at him in shock. "Highly advanced? Really? I just did what the..." Oh yeah.  

"Moki, when we first entered the temple you momentarily froze. Did something happen in that moment?" 

Her eyes darted towards his, debating. "No, no of course not. It was just, a- fuck." She sighed. "Yes, ok. I think I had a vision. Or memory, I'm not sure. There was a hooded man there, kneeling over the artifact, and his magic had a tune to it." She lowered her voice, knowing how sensitive the next part is. "The other's called him Fen'Harel." 

Solas froze. "Did you see this man?" His posture relaxed slightly when she shook her head. She wanted to call him out on it but Varric arrived at that moment.  

"Ah, Chuckles. Good job showing Footsy what to do back there, I believe you've made Hero's day seeing his sister beaming like that." 

Moki crossed her arms. "What, exactly, is that supposed to mean?" 

The shorter man leveled a his eyes at her. "How long has it been since your brother's seen your smile?" 

She opened her mouth, then shut it. Well, shit.  "So I see you got the horses." She pointed out the entryway behind her, ignoring Varric's eye roll. "Does this mean we're done in this place?" 

"It does," Michael stepped out, Lana and Cassandra close behind him. "Whenever your ready, I do believe I hear a warm bed in Haven calling my name." Walking to the lead horse he indicated for Moki to follow him.  

"I just want a warm bath." 

"You sure your not a mermaid?" He looked around at the others as he mounted the horse, holding out a hand to Moki to boost her up behind him. She grinned at Lana as Solas did the same for her. 

"What's a mermaid?" 

Her mind wandered as they rode, Michael explaining what a mermaid was to Lana while Moki thought back to what Mihris had said.  A mix blood. Elf and Human?  Glancing up she studied Michael's ears, then Solas's, back to Michael's. Well fuck me sideways and call me Gertrude- did his ears get longer? Facing the other way she discretely brushed her hair over her ear, heart beat doubling as she felt more on the end then there used to be. Wait, then why- never mind, she knew. It was their size- being a 5 foot 6 female elf in Thedas is definitely a thing people take notice of. Plus she actually had curves, something the male soldiers around here loved to remind her of.  

Turning her head back she studied Solas, seeing how much he and Michael seemed of a similar build. So maybe it was just her. Feeling his eyes on her she looked up, cringing inside at the dark speculation in the man's eyes. Lana, she thought, glancing back at the woman. I'm not sure I approve of your choice in men. 


	4. An Apple a Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will not be posting another chapter this fast, I was just super impatient to get this one out. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! <3 you guys!

"A little bird told me you wish to spar, but have no suitable partner." 

Moki snorted. Sure, and she was willing to bet this 'little bird' was a 4 foot something dwarf who liked to mess with people's heads. She slanted her eyes at Solas. Take out the dwarf part and his match was standing right next to her.  

Wearing a tunic that should be banished, it molded to his muscular form so enticingly... 

 Mentally shaking herself she turned her head to face him, her body mostly facing the sparring dummy she'd been practicing on.  "While this 'little bird' may have _his_ facts right, I don’t see how it concerns you." 

"I shall be your sparring partner for the day." 

 Her brows scrunched up at the mirth dancing in his eyes. "Wait... you spar? But you’re a mage. All you have to do is point your little stick and the other guy goes zap." 

"While I appreciate your confidence in my ability to 'zap' people before they reach me, even a mage should know now to defend himself properly." 

Something about his eyes told her she should take him seriously, and not just his words. Dropping her pose she turned to him. "Ok, sure, why not. Um, the sparring ring is full right now-" 

"We shall practice in the field." Moki watched as he left, the unspoken command to follow thick in the air.  

"Alrighty then." While she was slightly peeved at his behavior, curiosity over won her reservations. Grabbing a full waterskin she hurried after him. 

She hadn't realized how large the practice field was until now, never having seen it empty of soldiers before. Solas stood at a point close to the middle, his eyes shut in a meditative stance as she approached.  

"So, how are we going to do this, without a ring?" 

"You will yield." She raised a brow. Confident wasn’t he. 

"And the rules?" 

"No killing, maiming, or crotch shots." How did he say that with such a serious face? Not even a smirk. But his eyes... yeah, there might be something there. 

Slowly starting to circle him she nods, bring her hands out of their relaxed state at her sides, knees bent. He sinks into position and she instantly knows she was right, this man is far more than just a simple mage. Everything about him screamed deadly in close quarters.  

"Begin." She throws the first hook, he blocks and counters with a jab to her ribs. This continues for countless minutes, punching, blocking, kicking and rolling before starting again. Neither seemed to be getting the upper hand, but to a casual onlooker they seemed to get faster until their movements began to blur. She's breathing heavily, they both are, when Solas grabbed her briefly by the arm, then she's flipping him onto the ground, hard. Without thinking she pinned him, her body sprawled across his with her forearm across his throat, fingers wrapped around one wrist while her knee is pressed hard into the other. He blinks, blue eyes dilating as he stares up at her. Realizing what's happening she scrambled off of him in shock and steps back while she watches him stand, unsure who is more surprised.  

Taking a deep breath he resumes his stance, something different in his eyes. He comes at her faster, his hits concentrated more towards her abs and face. Finding herself on the retreat feels ugly to her, the ugliness turning into anger. Somewhere within her she feels a snap, her next hit quicker, blurred blue as it streaked at his face. Faster then should be possible his face snapped back. They stood there, breathing hard a moment as he studied her face. For the first time since she'd known him, he grins, a naughty, mischievous grin. "Your too slow, da'lan." Did he just call her a child? 

Feinting to the side to avoid her next jab, ducking around and pulling her into a chokehold, he holds her body pressed along his own. "You want to hit me don’t you." His lips are right next to her ear, his hot breath making her shiver. "So hit me." 

Something exploded out of her, pushing him back. Grabbing his forearm she made to flip him when he broke her grip, knocked her legs out from under her and pinned her to the ground. Pushing a knee between her shoulders he pressed her face down into the dirt. "I thought you were better than this, Moki." With a growl she tensed, flipped over and rolled her legs to hit his knees from behind, forcing him down. Quickly climbing over his stumbling form she pushed him down and rolled him onto his stomach, his head pulled back in a chokehold, knees on either side of his hips.  

"Is this more to your liking?" He mutters something in another language. “I’m sorry, I didn't catch that. Was that you yielding?” 

Somehow he rolled out of her grip, taking her whole body with him as he now pinned her beneath him, knees firmly clenching her legs down, hand forcing hers above her head. Lowering his head just out of her reach he smirks down at her. “I believe I said I prefer the top.” Her eyes glowered at him. 

Doing a push-up like move he stood up, stepping back while she rolled over and stood, then resumed his fighting stance. “This time, hit me.” He circled her, dodging every throw and kick she aimed his way, darting in faster then she could react and jabbing her shoulder or arm. At one point he slide his hand across the front of her neck. That's when she realized he was playing with her, that's when she lost her temper. 

“Embrace it, Moki.” He clearly saw what was happening, his voice low, cajoling. “Stop fighting it and use it.” His hands began to glow blue with the speed they moved, a chill stinging her flesh when they landed. A sharp jab to her ribs cleared her head, time slowing, her vision changing. A mist like substance was covering Solas, gliding with his every movement, swelling with his hits, enhancing the impact behind them. It was magic, it had to be, but what kind of magic was this? 

Throwing a low kick she tried to sweep his feet out from under him again, he blocked, she countered. Kick, hit, block- hit. She's almost hitting him, just a hair off every time. Solas raised a brow, taunting her with a flick of his fingers towards him, Moki grins. It's on. The blue stuff he'd surrounded himself with was all over her now, the enhanced speed and strength gouging the earth beneath them as their feet slide under each others hits. She pushed her blueness towards him, he blocked with his hand, jabbed at her ribs. Spinning she balanced as if on air, her mind emptying of everything except her need to move her body and get him. Solas grabbed her again, pushing her off-balance by blocking the blue and she knew he was going to do it so she rolled into the fall, pushed back up, and hit him.  

"Finally." It's like a mask drops, pure relief flows between them. The blue tells her things, allows her to step seamlessly with his next move. She returns the motion, the fight turning into a dance. They move faster, hit harder. It's incredible, fighting like this, her breath flowing out of her in sheer joy at being able to use the blue stuff around her. Just as she thinks he may still win, may still have enough of an advantage over her, he pushed her into another roll and grabbed her wrist, but she flipped him back under her, pinning him yet again on the ground.  

"Yield." At first she thinks she's hearing things, but his body remains passive under hers.  

"Wait, seriously?" 

"Yes, Moki. I yield." Releasing him she stepped back, holding out a hand to help him up.  

"What was that?" She grinned, the adrenaline still flowing through her body and the meshing of the blue stuff still surrounding their bodies destroying her reservations about touching him. "The blue stuff, what is it?" 

Removing his hand from hers he stepped back, resuming his usual commanding pose. "That was your mana. I theorized that by forcing you to extremes during the fight you would finally relinquish control of the mana within you. It would seem I was correct."  

The grin fell from her face, her usual mask falling back into place. It was a test. Of course it was a test. As she'd stated earlier, he likes to mess with people's minds. "So it would seem." 

The sound of clapping came from behind her, a glance revealing her brother approaching. "Should you ever have another need for a sparring partner, please feel free to find me." Solas directed a small nod over her shoulder before walking away. 

A heavy hand thumped on her shoulder, the force of it nearly knocking her over. "Whoa, sister, shit. One wouldn’t think you so delicate after watching that fight with Egghead. I mean, damn Moki, where the hell did that come from?" 

"I'm not really sure yet. Solas wanted me to lose control." Her eyes scanned the gouges in the field around them. "Looks like maybe I did." 

"You kidding? There's a pool going that if you two didn’t wind up killing each other you'd fuck instead. Seriously, Moki. That was the most amazing thing I've ever witnessed." Her shoulders sagged, the physical toll of the fight catching up to her. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up and fed, then you can go pass out after a few beers." 

"Oh no, did Varric see the fight?" 

"Of course he did, I've never seen a man write so fast." He laughed at her expression, playfully pushing her back to their cabin. 

 

 

 

Early the next morning found her searching for her brother after Cassandra informed her she was to head out with some scouts to a place called the Fallow Mire.  

"Just admit you don’t want her to go because you like her."  

"You need not worry about my intentions towards your sister, Herald.  I have no romantic inclinations towards her."  

Moki stalled, suddenly very reluctant to round the building and announce her presence.   

"Are you sure? After witnessing that fight earlier I'm not sure I believe you."   

She could practically see Solas pinching his nose at that. "While your sister is an attractive woman, she simply is not my type." Moki should have been good with hearing that, especially since she'd actively been trying to pair him up with Lana. So what was that twinge in her chest? "I merely voiced my concern of placing her in a highly unstable zone when she is still learning to harness her powers."  

Taking the last steps needed  she voiced her own opinion of that. "I appreciate your concern, Solas." Her voice gave nothing away. "But it is not necessary." Nor wanted. "I volunteered to do this, for the Inquisition."  

"And if it should kill you? How will that benefit anyone?" Something flashed in his eyes.   

Keeping her mask in place she continued to watch him impassively before turning back to Michael. "I'm not here to 'benefit' anyone. If that is all I'll be off, I just came by to let you know I'm leaving."  

Michael's hand stopped her before she fully turned away. "He's not right, is he? This isn't some kind of suicide mission or some shit is it?"  

She gave him her best are you serious look. "I might be unstable but I have no intentions of dying anytime soon."  

"I know bu-" She held up her hand, stopping him.   

"I refuse to just sit back and watch all these greennecks put their lives on the line when I can be doing something about it.  This is my purpose Michael. And to be fair- this shit is safer than half the crap we got into back home."  

He palmed his eyes. "Just once I wish you were a normal woman who actually cared about normal shit- you know; men, family, staying safe."   

She just snorted. "You find a man with enough balls to give it a go, lemme know. I promise you, I have yet to meet one." She purposely slanted her eyes at Solas with that last part.   

"What about a family then? You don’t need a man for that part."  

For the love of- were they seriously having this conversation right now? "You know it takes a mommy and a daddy-"  

"I know how babies are made, Moki. I'm just saying you don’t need a man for more than that."  

"Oh, so your saying pick myself a sperm donor, pray it takes, and raise the baby alone? How exactly does that help me?" Solas's brows quirked at sperm donor.  

"Maybe it'll teach you how to live again. Hey, don’t give me that look- I know what the war cost you, and me. But unlike you- it's not killing me. Just think about it." Moki rolled her eyes. Riiiight, last thing she needed was a bouncing bundle of diaper changes every four hours. Or less, they don’t have diapers here. Sooo, nappies? Breastfeeding wasn’t an issue, but what if she needed to get a job or something, who was going to watch- woah Moki, are you seriously- did you seriously??   

"Don't need to think about it, you know as well as I do we can't have kids, so finding some random fuck buddy for that reason is a no go."  

"You mean to say you have tried?" Oops, she'd actually forgotten Solas was still there for a moment. As if things weren't awkward enough.   

"The end of our world," Michael took up the honor of explaining it. "Meant the end of known ways to prevent babies. Since it never happened for us, we pretty much assumed we can't. Personally, I fully intend to try once I find a lady I want to keep around long enough to marry."  

"Well you have fun with that, brother dearest. But for now, I have places to go, people to kill. See you when I get back."  

"You can always adopt!" He practically yelled as she walked away, clearly ignoring her one finger salute. 

Walking by the produce stand she bought a few apples for her trip and was idly inspecting the weapons on display when she felt someone touch her pack. Knowing she was in Haven and there _shouldn’t_ be enemies pilfering her stuff here, she didn't automatically go into fight mode, but instead casually turned to see a tall man grinning at her with one of her apples in his hand.  

"Hey pretty lady, that’s some delicious looking fruit you've got there." His eyes raked up and down her body, clearly not meaning the fruit in his hand. "How bout you let ol'Len here have a taste." 

Are you fucking kidding me. Out of the corner of her eye Moki watched as Cullen joined Michael and Solas, the three men seemingly in a heated debate. Michael tensed up, somehow alerting the others something was going on, all three of them turning her way.   

"How bout you give me my apple back and go find someone else to mess with." She tried, really she did. Her brother needs a good reputation after all. "Please." 

Slowly the man raised the apple to his mouth, his tongue running- she guessed it was supposed to be provocatively- across the skin before he tossed it back. "Enjoy the preview sweet cheeks." 

Moki's eyes dropped. Sweet cheeks? Men were apparently just as dumb here as they'd been back on Earth. Woman says no, he hears- take me I'm yours. No, no, no. She corrected herself. Boys. Not men, but boys. Turning the apple in her hand so the side still wet from his tongue bath faced her she ran just the tip of her tongue up it, gazing at him seductively. Take notes fucker, this is how you do it. Behind him Michael crossed his arms, his lack of action clearly granting her permission to continue. Cullen must have said something because he just shook his head. Reaching the top of the apple, eyes back on the dumb fuck in front of her, she dug her teeth in hard and fast, head wretching to the side as she pulled a large chunk off and spit it at him. "There's my opinion of your preview," she sneered, wiping the spit from her chin. 

"Fucking knife ear bitch!" By now they had the attention of the whole market, plus some. Fuck Michael's reputation, it was time to make her own. Sliding her hand down her thigh she unsheathed her blades. Len took a step towards her, stopping with a mousey squeak of surprised pain.    
"Oh dearest me," Moki play acted distress as she gazed at the knife now embedded in the man's boot, voice cold and deadly. "It must have slipped from my hand." Visibly swollowing, the man took a deep breath then made to move again. A quick flick of her wrist and, "Well shit, there goes the other one. Looks like I may need some new knives, there's no way that's good for the tips." 

No one moved to interfere, all eyes glued to the pair to see what happened next.  "Maker.. Damned.. Rabbit-" 

As quick as the word left his mouth she mercilessly dug a blade into his throat, the onlookers slow to notice it had just been in his foot. "Say it." She sneered before continuing in a louder voice. "One more racial slur, be it against me," the blade bit deeper, breaking skin. "Or anyone else- no matter their race, and my blade will be the least of their worries." 

The grown boy had balls, she'd give him that. He actually leaned into the blade, cutting himself more on the edge. "I don't fear you." 

Tilting her head back, she prayed for patience. Ahh, fuck it. Fist swinging she caught him in the jaw, the tearing sound of his boot reminding her that her blade was still in it as his body flew back several feet. Huh, didn’t feel like she'd hit him that hard.  

"That's enough Moki." Oh look who decided to join the party. 

Whispers echoed through the crowd, the Herald was here.  

"I think my sister is right." 

"Sister?" Len's voice cracked from where he lay. Moki was honestly surprised he was still conscious.  

 "Oh yes. While I don’t completely agree with my sisters methods, I greatly agree on her message.  I do believe," he indicated Cullen, who stepped up beside him. "That the advisors of the Inquisition will agree that we want to make changes in Thedas. But in order to make a change in the world, we must start within our own ranks." He looked at Cullen for confirmation. With a nod Cullen stepped forward, everything about him commanding attention.  

"Agreed, Herald. From this day forth, anyone caught treating others unfairly or in a demeaning manner based especially on their race will be punished according to the severity of their actions, to be decided by the Advisors, and the Herald." He looked pointedly down at the wounded man. 

With a final withering glare at Len, Moki grabbed her remaining blade  from the ground and walked away.  

"Lady Moki." Cullen fell into step beside her. "Was there not a better way for you to deal with that?" 

"Oh sure, what would have been better, mimicking animals and throwing my voice? I'm sure they'd be quivering in their damn boots over that little party trick."  

"Throwing your voice?" They stopped walking, facing each other.  

She grinned up at him, enjoying his honey eyes. "Oh yeah, it's fun. Hey Michael, you’re a," She whinnied, then toss a he-haw behind him, lightly laughing with Cullen at his expression. 

"Did you just call me a horse's ass? Is this the thanks I get for saving _your_ ass back there?" 

"Ok, next time a man decides no is not a good enough answer, what do you want me to do? Turn the other cheek? Or wait until he finds me unsuspecting in the dark?" 

"Commander." They turned to face a unusually irate Solas.  

"Solas." 

"Sister Leliana is looking for you, I do believe she is still by the requisitions tent." Solas's eyes were cold as he watch Cullen march away, not warming in the least when he excused himself and left. Well fuck, who pissed in his cheerios?  With a shake of her head she dismissed it from her mind,  going instead to find her scouting party. 


	5. Bogs Are For Dead People

When Moki was 5 she and Michael were found eating out of a trash bin at a truck stop, the pair who'd 'saved' them had followed them home and found them living in a falling down shack in the middle of abandoned land. The place had carcasses on the ground, feces, old trash and moldy straw- and yet still somehow Moki was positive it had smelled better than this place.  Pulling the cloth covering her face tighter she attempted to ignore the foul smell as she observed her surroundings.  The man on her left, a soldier called Braden, watched her a little too intently for her liking, but she was fairly sure he was actually a templar. Or had some kind of templar training. He had the same iciness that Cullen had, just to a larger degree, but she hadn't been around any other templars so she wasn’t entirely sure, it was more of a hunch.  

Ever since her fight with Solas and 'discovering'- er, releasing?- the blue her world had been slowly amplifying in every way possible. Sight, taste, smell. Uh, why smell? Thank you Solas for granting her that small service, now if only the jerk could have explained a bit more about it too, that would have been great. She had no idea if what was happening was normal or not, but judging from the behavior of her fellow scouts, two of which were elves, she was going to say- no. Sure they wrinkled their noses at the smell but nothing like what she was doing. And nothing explained how she just 'knew' things. The blue told her when someone moved, and in which direction. How close they were to her, how fast their heartbeat was- which, by the way, is great for detecting liars, case in point, Braden. He was a super smooth liar, but a liar none the less.  

While she kept referring to it as blue stuff, it wasn’t so much that she 'saw' it as felt it. She felt... more. Of everything. And when your walking in a bog- who in their right mind makes a home in a BOG?- that is not a good thing.   

She'd seen a movie with a bog before, Lord of the Rings maybe? That one had been full of dead bodies. Glancing into the water she was happy to note no bodies floated under the surface, thank goodness. She wasn’t sure she could stomach that.  

"It's so quiet." 

Jai, the team leader, glanced back at her, the group of five having finally reached the outskirts of the small town. "What's that?" 

"Where are all the people? I.. don’t hear anyone." 

The man frowned marginally before pulling an arrow from his quiver, holding it relaxed against his bow as his eyes darted around. The other two men also went on alert, everyone noticing the very wrongness of this place. No people, no animals, just rain. It felt eerily like home, which was not sitting well with her nerves. Half afraid someone was going to pop up, deformed and deranged, armed with a gun and stumbling after her in the hopes she had food, she hurried to one of the houses, checking inside. "Empty." The others, having done the same as her, echoed her words. All the houses were empty, but not in a no one lives here way. These people, it was obvious they hadn't been back in a while, like they went for a walk and never returned. Food was rotting on the table, the ashes in the fire pit not yet dampened from the humidity. Systematically they checked the buildings, finding the same sad story in each one.  

 On the second day of their trip out here Jai had realized that Moki had the best hearing in the group, by the third the best sight. It quickly became a game of, what she said it was, and if she was right or not. It was because of this little game of theirs that she'd become aware that her senses were more than they were before in the first place. As Jai pulled her to the side and pointed to a field of tall grass she knew this is what he was asking of her- what did she see, or smell.  

Reluctantly pulling the scarf off her face she took a deep breath, trying to smell what was out there since the weeds were too tall to see through. "Herbivore- er, plant eater. Heavy, but no hooves." She listened to the creature as it walked. "Very heavy, probably short legged and stocky." Another deep breath made her want to clean her nose. "There," she pointed to the left. "I think I found the villagers."  

Jai whistled for Courtni and Malike, Braden bringing up the rear. "Moki found the villagers, from the look on her face it doesn’t look good. Keep an eye out, something besides the obvious is very wrong here." Good to know she wasn’t the only one who's hair was standing on end. Keeping their current order they carefully made their way in the direction she'd indicated, everyone covering their nose by the time they arrived.  

"What happened to them, do you think?" Courtni squatted down, hand firmly over her nose, as she inspected the closest bodies.  

"Don't touch them," Moki pulled her back. "Those look like pock marks." They looked at her blankly. "Plague?" 

It was almost funny how fast they backed up. So they have those here, good to know. Is it the same kinds she'd already been vaccinated against or did they have a whole new brand of messed up diseases? It would suck to find out all those shots she'd had as a kid were completely worthless here. "We need to burn the bodies." 

Courtni made to move again, but again, Moki stopped her. "I'll do it. The less we touch them the better, it won't take much to move them into a pile... or two. Um, I will need a change of underclothes after..?" Plus she was hoping her vaccines were good for this much at least. Pulling off everything except her smalls she ignored Braden's open stare and got to work moving the bodies, finally, sadly, creating three piles.  

They were watching her expectantly when she was done, at first she couldn’t figure out why. Fire. They wanted to see how she'd start the fires. "Uh, before I do this," hopefully, "does anyone have a prayer or something to say for them?" 

"I don’t pray." Thank you Malike, for making that so very clear.  

"I'm not Andrastian, I might offend. What about you Jai? No? Braden?" Courtni frowned. "Moki?" 

Moki shook her head, she had no idea. Seeing no one else offer she pulled on her mana, concentrating like Lana had been trying to teach her, on fire.  Feeling warm she opened her eyes, surprised to see she was standing between three now flaming piles, a feeling of loss pulling deep within her. She had no idea where it came from, where she'd heard it- or hell, if it was even appropriate given the situation, but slowly she began to sing, half naked in the middle of a raining bog, standing there among the dead.  

"Elara vallas, da'len," she heard Courtni gasp as the words slowly left her lips. "Melava somniar. Mala taren aravas. Ara ma'desen melar." 

Malike leaned over to whisper something to Courtni, asking what she was singing. Glancing back, uncertain if she should continue, she noticed Jai looked stricken as well. "Please," Courtni's voice was soft. "Continue." 

Moki chewed her lip a moment, unsure, especially since she didn’t know what the words meant, but it felt so right. With a nod she turned away, took a deep breath, and continued. "Iras ma ghilas, da'len. Ara ma ne'dan ashir. Dirthara lothlenan'as. Bal emma mala dir." 

"Tel'enfenim, da'len." A feeling within her, one she was slowly learning was her mana pool, burst, the surge of mana flowing from her into the burning piles. Within moments blue lights rose from the fires, tiny little orbs that circled her as she continued to sing. Laughter, cries, children, mothers, husbands- the orbs carried their words and actions as they swirled around, their joys and sorrows, happy and sad. One in particular got really close, the faint ghosting of a kiss on her cheek as the orb whispered, through feeling alone, a heartfelt thank you. 

 "Irassal ma ghilas. Ma garas mir renan. Ara ma'athlan vhenas. Ara ma'athlan vhenas." The orbs circled her faster, the force of their movement causing her hair to float around her while her eyes watched them in wonder. "Falon'Din enasal enaste." She whispered. "Ar lasa mala revas." Like mini rockets the orbs shot up into the sky, their tiny lights flickering out until none were left, a joy unlike any she'd ever known filling her as she watched.  

"What did I just watch happen here?" Braden sounded..unsure.  "What- what was that?!"  

"A miracle.." Courtni's words were too low for Braden to catch. "A-" 

"Heathen!" Malike charged her, sword raised high. "Where did you damn their soul's to, witch?!" 

Before he could complete his swing Jai tackled him to the ground, pinning the distraught man. "She gave them a proper sending and you want to kill her for it?" 

"I have never in all my years witnessed what she just did- that should not be possible! Their souls have been captured, there is no other-" 

"ENOUGH!" Refusing to give in both men glared at each other as Courtni joined the argument. "Malike- do you trust me?" He turned his head to her, confused. "Do..you..trust..me?!" 

"I- yes." He seemed upset by his admittance. "I do." 

"Then trust me when I say this, what she did, I have only heard stories of. She just _saved_ those people- saved them, Malike, not damned them. Didn't you feel it? They were happy." She turned to Moki. "You saved them." Moki felt thrilled about it, and extremely uncomfortable. How did she tell this woman with stars in her eyes that she had no idea what she'd just done, and no idea if she could repeat it?  

Own it, Moki. Just go with the flow. "I am happy to have done it for them." She frowned. Why did she sound like Solas just then?  Feeling spunky she shrugged off the odd feeling that tried to settle over her and stepped into the closest fire, a sixth sense telling her she wouldn’t burn- but germs, and her clothes, would. Butt naked when she stepped out she ignored everyone's looks and redressed.  

"The only downside of what you just did, Moki, is that you confirmed how very wrong things are here." Jai crossed his arms, unaffected by her immodest display. "The only way for their souls to be trapped like that is through unnatural deaths. Some form of corruption must have killed these people, be it demon or mage, I can't say." 

"There seems to be some kind of open cave over there," Courtni pointed towards a covered alcove. "I say we should stay there for the night, look into this other stuff in the morning." 

"Won't get no argument from me. I really need to shut my brain off for a few." Braden was rubbing his temples, distress evident on his face. Maybe 'Moki Magic' is just too much for poor 'Templar Braden'.  

She chuckled to herself. "I'll take first watch." 

Malike and Braden both watched Moki through the night, both remarking on how she has so much energy for someone who barely eats or sleeps. She just shrugged. Whatever it was they were looking for, she didn’t know, but she'd been like this for the last six years. At least now she didn’t look like a scarecrow, her sharp edges slowly being replaced with curves again. It was a nice feeling. Just before morning she finally managed to drift off, her mind still puzzling over what she had done earlier, and what it might mean. 

 

 

 _"Mamae! Mamae!" The little girl cupped her hands around her mouth as she shouted._  

 _"Durlahn ma! Tel'numin tor, ar'an tel'eolasa_ _iras_ _ar'an ane! Ahn vis tamahn ane telam o?!" (Quiet you! Don't shout, we don't know where we are! What if there are bad (people) about?!) The little boy next to her yanked her hands down roughly, his eyes darting everywhere as he gazed at the unfamiliar landscape._  

 _"Ar'an ane laim isa'ma'lin._ _Iras_ _is Mamae?" (We are lost brother. Where is mom?)_  

 _"Ma ithara, ma'asa'ma'lin em'an ve."  (You saw it, Aunt (sent) us away.)_  

 _His eyes were glued on a four wheeled object in front of him, the metal covering the sides red with rust. Nothing about it was familiar. Beyond it was a wooden building, like an old lean to for horses that poor people used, but when he checked inside he found moldy straw and the remains of some creature he didn’t recognize. Looking back outside he gazed at his sister, realizing they had just lost everything._  

 _"Garas, lasa em'an esay to gara da'hamin. Nuva ea ju'vena em'an la'var ar'an erathe." (Come, let us try to get some rest. Maybe she will find us while we sleep.)_  

 _"But she never came, did she_ _?" The voice echoed around her,_ _Moki swung her head to find the owner but only saw the little boy._  

 _"Who's there?!" Moki felt wrong, the despair of the little girl clinging to her as if it were her standing t_ _here and not this... why_ _was she dreaming of this_ _?_  

 _"Abandoned as a child, shunned as a teen, lost as an adult. Always around but never wanted, a mere footnote in the footnote section."_  

 _Moki's heart started to speed up as the words sank deep_ _within her, awakening a part of her she'd thought long buried_ _, expanding_ _it_ _to the point of panic. "GO AWAY!" Her voice broke on the end._  

 _"No one will ever want you, your life a long and lonely road you'll never escape. Even your brother will push you away in time..."_  

 _Something formed on the edges of her vision, a shape stepping into view._  

 _"Everyone you have ever loved will leave you, Sora. Just like they always have."_  

 _The howl of a wolf echoed around them, the shape becoming larger before a huge multi-red eyed_ _black_ _wolf leapt on her brother, whose shape changed, becoming more demonic. "Leave here," the wolf growled, throwing the creature away._  

 _"She is mine," it hissed before turning back to Moki. "_ _You will not stop me from having her_ _.”_ _It left, simply fading from existence. The dream changed, shift_ _ing_ _to look more like_ _Haven_ _._  

 _"You are safe, da'lan. It will not be back." Moki gazed at the wolf, sure she should be terrified but something about him... there was just something about him. She wasn’t sure yet._  

 _"This is the Fade, isn't it?"_  

 _"It is known by that name, yes. This is the land of spirits, and demons, much like that Despa_ _ir Demon that took the boys_ _shape. Have you not been here before?" He lay down, his posture hinting that he was trying to seem_ _non_ _-_ _threatening_ _._  

 _"I...no. I think I have heard of_ _you...you_ _are the Lord of the Fade, Fen'Harel, right?" Moki sat down in front of him, looking him in the face as they talked._ _His large majestic head was ea_ _sily three times larger than any wolf, or dog, she'd ever seen, but somehow she felt he could change that._ _He held it high, pride evident in his_ _b_ _e_ _aring_ _._  

 _"You have heard of me, yet you do not fear me. Why is that?"_ _His head tilted as he studied her_ _, four of his six eyes closing, the two still_ _open changing to blue when he bl_ _inked._  

 _"I...am new to my_ _magic...really_ _wish Solas had explained it to me after helping me find it." She noticed his eye twitch_ _slightly_ _at the elf's name. She couldn’t hear his heart though, like she could with everyone else. Was it because he really was a spirit, or was there another reason? "It tells me things. You_ _feel...familiar_ _. Like we've maybe met before. But...it's crazy,_ _like_ _a hazy dream, much like this craziness." She waved her hand around her._  

 _"Sora is your name?"_  

 _"Hmm, my real one yes. I don’t use it, it's a video game character where I come from. Moki is my name now." He gazed at her intently as she talked._ _“Why are you here?”_  

 _"Many_ _have heard of you, traveler from_ _another world. It has drawn_ _more than myself here to see_ _for themselves. Am I to assume a video game is... like a story?"_  

 _"Hmm, yes. Sora is a regular guy who gets dumped into another world and has to help save it. I have noticed the irony there."_  

 _"Yes, it is curious that you are living much like this other Sora did. It is also an elven name, it means she who has power in dreams._ _I sense a truth to your naming._ _You should consider that if another demon should visit, for you are the stronger being here."_  

 _"So if I wanted to kick you out I could?" The wolf threw his head back and laughed. Oddly it made her happy to see him like this, she sensed an immense sadness clinging to him._  

 _"You could try, da'lan. It means you are a somniari, a mage who can change the shape of their dreams. Much like your Solas companion, if I am not mistaken."_  

 _She raised her brows, intrigued. "So if for any reason I wanted to talk to him in my dreams I could? How does that-" Something changed, a pull tugging her hard. "What-?"_  

"Moki!" Jai was standing above her, shaking her shoulder. Nearly hitting him as she jerked upright she held herself still a moment to catch her bearings, it had been so long since she'd slept that deeply it left her body feeling groggy, slow.  

"Wha? Jai?" 

"Somethings circling us, we need you up." Right, duty calls.  

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she double checked her weapons and left the tent, a nagging sense of foreboding settling in her stomach. Jai waved her over to where he and Malike stood, pointing a finger into the dark. Her eyes strained, ears struggled, but there was nothing. Reaching up she pulled Jai down by his tunic, pulling him close enough to whisper into his ear, but before she could utter a word something long and thin snapped around her leg, her body hitting the ground hard as it pulled her forward.  

"Moki!" Jai's voice sounded more distant with each syllable, the thing around her leg dragging her fast towards the water with nothing for her to grab at to stop herself from going under. She struggled, cut, twisted, pulled- whatever the thing on her was it seemed super glued to her skin, not so much as slipping no matter what she threw at it. With a splash she went under, the thing still dragging her farther and farther from shore, the water becoming darker as she sank deeper. Magic, magic, she has magic right?!? What good is magic if she _can't breathe_!  

Her body sank deeper into the freezing waters, faint shapes above her moving the surface, all of it becoming almost surreal as she watched little bubbles of air float up. When the water filled her lungs, a strange peace stole over her. Of all the ways to go this was not the one she'd imagined would happen to her. 

Light illuminated the dark watery grave she slowly sank into, an rough tug around her body the last thing she remembered before unconsciousness finally claimed her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I orginally had a different song up, I am the One from DA:O. But I found this song, Mir Da'len Somniar, which is a lullaby and a song for the departed. Fits better so I changed it out. You can look it up on youtube if you want to actually hear it.   
> https://youtu.be/Zl3CmzQY1So  
> Falon'Din enasal enaste: a prayer for the dead  
> Ar lasa mala revas: You are free.


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